Smallville Creed
by HK7747
Summary: Ezio gets sent forward in time to Metropolis present-day. He joins the JLA and adjusts to life in the 21st century. M for language, violence, and future sexual content
1. Chapter 1

**This is just a test chapter, I guess that's what I like to do with my stories, just to get a feel if it's a story I should keep going through with. So, my Percy Jackson/Star Wars/Assassin's Creed cross-over story is officially dead. It's been a long time since a review has come in, but I don't blame it, because it's a pretty odd combination. Anyways, so I was brainstorming a new hero to bring into the JLA, and I got the idea that Ezio could be it! I'm not going to ruin too much of the what and how, so I'll let you guys read it! DISCLAIMER: I don't own Smallville or Assassin's Creed. They belong to the CW and Ubisoft Montreal respectively.**

Ezio woke up all of a sudden, panting with a fresh layer of sweat covering his figure. He looked over and saw his latest one-night stand sleeping peacefully at his side. He swung his legs off the bed and sat with his feet touching the cold stone of his Villa suite. His fingers massaged his temples as he tried to sort out what woke him up. Then, he heard it again.

_Ezio._

It was a whisper, though he somehow knew it was not out loud.

_You must return to the Vault, Ezio_.

Then he picked it out. It was Minerva's voice whispering in his head. With that realization, he quickly and quietly geared up, leaving a hasty scrawl on the bedside table for the woman, with the usual spiel he gave that dismissed any future between them, but still somehow managed to keep them happy. He snuck through the Monteriggioni streets, sticking to the shadows until he reached the stables outside the walls of the settlement.

He raced down the beaten paths all night, stopping at an inn for a very early breakfast and a rest for the horse, and then setting off again on his route to Rome. Another hour and a half and he found himself outside of the massive city.

The guards let him through without a problem, failing to recognize the Master Assassin. After much winding through the cobbled streets until he reached the Sistine Chapel. Despite still being heavily guarded, it proved relatively simple for Ezio to climb and swing his way inside. He went through the process of opening the secret entrance and navigated to the depression where he remembered fighting the Pope.

He looked around, extending his arms out while spinning and asking aloud: "How am I supposed to get in without the Pieces of Eden?"

The door to the Vault glowed and he walked over to it, laying a hand over it when it suddenly slid open. Ezio frowned, but still continued into the room where he remembered hearing the cryptic message about some Desmond. Minerva's form shimmered to life before him.

"Thank you for returning, Ezio. The Templars have all but wiped out the Assassin Order in the future, in the time of your descendant, Desmond. As troubling as it will be to demand this of you, we are sending you there to help bring them down so that Desmond may fulfil his destiny," she said plainly, in a way that Ezio knew he had no say in it.

"But why me? What help could I possibly be in the future?" he asked, annoyed at her arrogance.

"You are the greatest Assassin since Altair Ibn-La Ahad, perhaps better, and this current age is more relatable to the future than Altair's. Plus, you're the only Assassin up until now to have come into contact with us and will be the only one until Desmond. Good luck, Assassin."

Ezio cried out as the room exploded into light and he lost consciousness.

He woke up surrounded by oddly-dressed figures. He looked down to find himself in the Assassin's garb that he wore just after his father's death. Ezio frowned and triggered one of his hidden blades, using the blade's reflective surface as a mirror. What he saw caused him to gasp.

He had somehow been sent into the future, but had his body returned to when he was 21, just when he had gone through that traumatic experience.

_My body then and my experience now. Nicely done, Minerva._

He sheathed the blade and looked around, still ignoring the people around him. He saw all sorts of things that he had no way to describe.

He began to scramble backwards, muttering: "_Cazzo_, _merda!_ The future! Hah! More like _inferno_! What could I have done to deserve this? Sure, I killed the poor _stronzo _here and there, but who doesn't?"

He looked up at the figures, who seemed mildly interested in his behaviour. He saw one that was tanned with blond hair clad in orange and green form-fitting clothes. Another wore a metal vest and some dark form-fitting clothing that seemed to blend in with his complexion. Another wore bright red clothes with yellow details. Another wore some green and black form-fitting leather and had a bow strung, nocked and aimed at him. The one beside him wore a red leather jacket with a blue shirt underneath. Barely visible on the jacket was a crest bearing an 'S' in the middle.

The one with the bow asked in a deep voice: "Who are you?"

"Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Am I in hell?" he asked, motioning at the monitors in the Watchtower.

The one with the red jacket chuckled: "No. You're in Metropolis."

"Where is this 'Metropolis'? When is it?"

The one with the metal vest replied: "Metropolis is in the State of Kansas, in the United States of America. This is the year 2010."

"America? I am from Italy. I was in 1503 not ten minutes ago!"

The red-clad figure said: "Funny how that has a way of happening,"

The one in green stepped forward: "Well, I guess you're stuck in our time for now. I'm Oliver, but I'm known as the Green Arrow. The guy in the red there with the wit is Bart, also known as Impulse. Our other advocate of red is Clark or the Blur. This is Victor or Cyborg with the metal, and that's Arthur or Aquaman. He prefers AC, though. What are you doing here, Ezio?"

"I was sent here to take down the Templar Order in this time. They are known for secretly backing operations that could lead to global destruction or domination. From what Minerva said, it looks like it will be more destruction in this time. Where I came from, I was the _Maestro_ of the Assassin Order. We're known to be fearless warriors that take out Templar planted agents in society without detection, leaping off of tall buildings, and our Eagle Vision skill, which allows us to determine Allies from Enemies and Targets from Neutrals," Ezio said.

Oliver nodded in appreciation.

"Well, in a way, that's kind of what we do here," Oliver said.

Clark cut in: "Except we bring super-powered criminals to justice and overall ensure the maintenance of justice and well-being of the citizens of Metropolis. Not much killing involved," he looked pointedly at Oliver, who shrugged away the insinuation.

Oliver continued, unperturbed: "Anyways, we could use someone with your skills, and we'll see about returning the favour with these 'Templars'. What do you say?"

Ezio contemplated this: "Hmmm, do I get to pick my hero name and outfit?"

"The outfit, yes, the name, not so much," AC said. "Oliver here apparently has a knack of giving us good names. At least, so he thinks. If not, Lois could always pen a better one."

"Who is this Lois?" Ezio said, mildly interested.

Clark caught the tone and frowned: "My fiancée and partner at my day job at the Daily Planet. For you to fit in, I'll arrange with my boss for you to get a job there, under Lois and my supervision. You can also stay at the farm with us, too."

"_Grazie_, _signore_ Blur," Ezio said as he bowed in Clark's direction.

The others snickered at this.

Clark rolled his eyes and hoisted Ezio by the collar into the air with one hand and walked over to the elevator with him.

"_Que cosa?_ Put me down, _figlio de putana_! _Vai a maudita, stronzo_!" Ezio shouted until the door shut.

Clark super-sped back to the farm, much to Ezio's amazement. Still lifting Ezio by the collar, he walked through the back door, walking into the living room where Lois sat on the couch, curled up with a book. She looked up in surprise at the new guest.

"Hey there, Smallville, who's this? An escapee from the Renaissance Fair?" she snickered.

Clark put Ezio down on his feet: "Actually, an actual person from Renaissance Italy. His name is Ezio and he was the head of the Assassin Order in Italy in 1503, when he was transported forward in time and landing in the Watchtower during a meeting. He'll be staying with us and I'll talk to Perry about getting him a job at the Planet."

Lois got up and shook Ezio's hand: "Hi there Ezio, I'm Lois, Clark's fiancée, welcome to the Kent Farm."

"Enchanted," the Assassin said, turning Lois's hand and giving it a slow peck, "Thank you so much for your hospitality. I realize that being in a different era means that blending better will mean getting more contemporary clothes. Is there any possibility of some being around?"

Clark replied: "Yeah, I've got some clothes that are a little small for me," he started toward the stairs, only to be halted by Lois.

"I don't think Italians from 1503 or even today can work all that plaid, Clarkie. We can get Ollie to take him to get some clothes tomorrow morning, and then bring him to the Planet in the afternoon."

Clark nodded: "Anyways, Ezio. You're going to get my old room, which is basically the guest room."

The next day, Ezio went with Oliver and got an assortment of t-shirts, hoodies, jeans, and dress attire, all with shoes to match the occasions.

He walked into the Daily Planet sporting a plain white hoodie over a black t-shirt, faded and torn jeans, and loafers, sporting a one-strap backpack.

After getting some directions, he found Lois and Clark's office. Upon entering, they looked up to see Ezio standing there awkwardly, ruefully running his hand over his newly-cut hair. Oliver had insisted that to better fit in, a haircut was a necessity, so the ponytail was replaced with a faux-hawk with closely shaved sides.

"Looking good Ezio," Lois teased. Ezio's head shot up, a huge grin on his face.

"You really think so, _Madonna_ Lane?"

"Sure, you'll have the girls all over you," she said.

"Oh, really?" Ezio said cheekily, sidling up to her side, only to be guided to the door by Clark.

"Let's go see Mr. White, Ezio," he said.

As soon as they were outside the door, Clark stopped him and spun him so that they were facing each other.

"Okay, we've got some rules to establish. Number one: no hitting on Lois. She's my fiancée. Hit on any girl you want, except for anyone married or engaged, or even in a relationship. Number two: if Mr. White asks, you came from Italy to study journalism and wanted to work here at the Planet, okay?"

Ezio nodded.

They walked into the office, with Mr. White tapping away at his computer. He stopped when he saw the entrance of one of his star reporters.

"Clark, m'boy! How are you? And this must be the young chap you were telling me about, Ezio right? It's an honour to meet you; I'm Perry White, editor in chief of the Daily Planet."

He held out his hand, which Ezio shook, stating: "_L'honore e mio_, _messere_ White. Mr. Kent has told me much about you, and I can't wait to work for someone as reputed as Clark tells me!"

Perry smiled and nodded appreciatively to Clark. He turned back to Ezio: "So whereabouts in Italy are you from?"

"Florence, sir. My father was a banker, but unfortunately, he and my two brothers were in an automobile accident which killed them, and my mother and sister are in the care of some friends of family while I pursue my career over here. I never pictured it looking like this over here," Ezio explained, surprising Clark with his improvisation.

"I'm so sorry about your loss, Ezio," the Assassin put a hand over his heart and nodded his appreciation. "Anyways, I hope to get some good work out of you here. You'll be reporting to Ms. Lane and Mr. Kent. Thank you, Ezio."

"Thank _you_, Mr. White, for this grand opportunity." They shook hands again and Ezio and Clark left.

Once at a safe distance from the office, Clark grinned and shook Ezio's hand and commended him on his improvisation.

They walked back into Clark and Lois's office to see a stunning blond woman speaking with Lois. Ezio stopped in his tracks and tugged Clark back out into the hall.

"Who is that?" he whispered to Clark.

The Kryptonian grinned: "That's my cousin Kara, she and I have the same abilities, save that she can fly and I can't. Why?"

"Clark, this might seem odd, but I think I'm in love."

**There we go! There's that segment! I'll wait until I get some feedback before starting on the next chapter, but I'm definitely going to have Ezio moon after Kara. Please review! It makes me work faster when I'm motivated by some nice reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

***DISCLAIMER: I do not own Smallville or Assassin's Creed! Anyways, so, up to this point, no activity, but this story is tugging at the edges of my brain, so I'm going to get it out of my system while I can. Enjoy!***

"No," Kara stated simply, walking away from a pleading Ezio.

"_Madonna_ Kara, pleeease?" Ezio whined, dropping down and grabbing her foot, only to be dragged around the Kent barn with no effort by Kara.

"For the last time, Ezio, I do _not_ want to go out on a date with you!"

Ezio replied: "I will keep pestering you until you say yes,"

Kara let out an exasperated sigh: "Really?"

"You have my word of honour," he said, patting his chest with one hand before quickly latching back onto her leg.

"Fine! I will go out on a date with you!"

Ezio let go, slowly stood up and raised his arms in triumph and started letting out incoherent shouts of triumph. When he calmed down, he turned to her.

"When and where?"

"I was hoping you would tell me that,"

Ezio's eyebrows rose. "_Va bene_. How about a meal here Friday night cooked by yours truly?"

"Alright, you're on, see you then," Kara said, striding out of the barn and shooting up into the sky, smiling as her super hearing allowed her to hear Ezio's infatuated sigh.

"CLARK!" Ezio yelled as he dashed between the island and the stove, chopping ingredients, then tossing them into the frying pan.

There was a gust of wind as Clark super-sped downstairs.

"You didn't burn anything, did you?"

"No! I thought you and Lois were supposed to be gone by now!"

"Yeah, change of plans, Lois came down with a migraine and it's a pretty slow night at Watchtower, so I'll be sticking around here."

"_Cazzo, cazzo e mille cazzo!_ This was just supposed to be myself and Kara! How do you expect me to win her over if you're here?"

"She likes lilacs, which you grabbed. She'll love the meal. I saw the iPod loaded up to Say It Again, her favourite song. All that's left is for you to not be a creep. Just act natural, she'll like that. How'd you find those out?"

"Well, I looked up her file in Watchtower. I'm really getting the hang of this technology thing, no?"

"You're adapting at a quicker rate than Emil predicted," Clark remarked appreciatively.

The door opened as Kara walked in, wearing a blue hoodie over a red v-neck t-shirt. She tugged at the shirts nervously and the two boys beamed at her.

"I'll be upstairs looking after Lois. Let me know if you two need anything," Clark said as he walked out, giving Ezio a thumbs-up once he was out of Kara's line of sight.

"I saw that, Kal-El!" she called out as she turned her head to face Ezio, a huge grin sliding into place.

Ezio pulled out a chair at the table and motioned for her to sit in it. She sped into it and he pushed her in, earning him another smile from the Kryptonian. He served the pasta, telling her tales of his times in Italy as they ate. She laughed at all of his jokes and had a visible reaction when at the end of the meal, he pulled her into the living room, planting her in the middle as he pressed play on the iPod, with Say It Again playing over the speakers, he held her close as they swayed in the circle.

Kara rested her head on his shoulder and smiled as she heard Kal-El giving Lois a play-by-play upstairs. She blocked that out and pulled her head away to look up at Ezio. The Assassin was looking down at her tenderly and she felt a swelling of emotion happen in time with the music as she pressed her lips to his and there they stayed, lip locked, swaying in a circle. Little did they know, they soon found themselves floating a foot off the floor. Ezio soon found this out when they broke apart pulling her into a hug as they floated around the room.

"So, I take it this date will be followed by others?"

"Of course, so you can go around all you want and tell everyone we're dating, though perhaps Lois and Clark will beat you to it, seeing as how Clark just posted the news on the Daily Planet employee's forum," as she said this, she playfully punched his arm.

"OW!"

"Oh, come on, I barely touched you!"

"That may seem that way to you, but for a human, _that really hurts_!"

Kara's temper seemed to flair, only to be halted as Ezio could no longer contain his laughter.

"You should've seen the look on-" he chuckled, only to be cut off by another one of Kara's kisses.

He told himself that he could get used to this.

Kara and Ezio were at the crow's nest, her walking around scanning the surroundings for any signs of trouble, while Ezio was perched on the head of a gargoyle, also surveying the surroundings. It had been a calm night, until a gunshot and a cry for help pierced the night.

"That's two separate things," Kara said. "You go for the gunshot, it's straight ahead for a few blocks and I'll help the woman. I'll give you back-up when I'm done."

Ezio nodded and donned the hood on his black assassin's robes and swan dove from the gargoyle just as Kara shot into the sky.

Ezio was plummeting headfirst towards the Metropolis sidewalk below. When he was about twenty feet from the ground, he activated the high-tech compound rendering of Leonardo's flying contraption, pulling up at the last second and soaring above the cars, to many excited gasps and pointing as well as cheers. Ezio smirked and sharply turned into the alley where a shootout was happening, de-activating the wings and landing right into a sprint, vaulting off a wall and knocking out the culprits, dragging their limp bodies over to the policemen who stood there in fascination as this robed figure handed the two over.

"Who are you?" the one asked.

Ezio thought it over, and then replied: "I am the Prophet."

**There you have it, chapter 2. I thought that it'd be cool to use the whole 'Prophet' thing as his hero persona. Anyways, keep posted for the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

***Oi vey, it's been awhile since I've updated this... :S Well, hopefully with my returning interest in Smallville as well as my on-going obsession with Assassin's Creed, I'll have the creative juices flowing enough to finish this fic up nicely :D A **_**HUGE**_** shout –out to Macri007 for the idea for the layout of the next little bit, which will properly cement the link between the two worlds crossing over, rather than it just being a Smallville fic with Ezio in it. DISCLAIMER: I own nothing... Well, I do own possessions of mine, just not Smallville and AC, sadly );***

Metropolis was buzzing with the announcement of their latest addition to the vigilante ranks. The Prophet (otherwise nicknamed The Angel of Justice) was seemingly all the rage, as Ezio heard snippets of conversations where people kept re-hashing and slowly exaggerating the details of his maiden save.

He was crashing at the Kent Farm with Lois, Clark, and Kara. He was given the loft and Kara was using Clark's old bedroom, though Clark promised that he'd be keeping a good x-rayed eye on the loft to make sure that Kara didn't speed in and do anything he wouldn't approve of. This naturally annoyed them, not because they were necessarily at that stage yet, just the fact that he was that strict and over-protective.

Kara and Ezio had left the farm and were walking through the streets of Metropolis on a day off from their duties. The Justice League now had an extensive enough web of operatives that they could assign a mini squad quadrants of the city to watch over while the others could have a few nights off before they had to take up their own watch duties. Ezio had found out about Kara's passion for video games and had decided to have a casual hang-out tonight, so they now walked into the Metropolis GameStop, with Ezio motioning for Kara to find something that caught her eye for them to buy and play. He watched as she drank in the hundreds of games on the shelves around them and was browsing the Xbox games when she called him over, a frown on her face.

"What is it, _amore_?" he asked.

She simply handed him two cases, which he sighed before inspecting. Once he focused on the covers, the blood visibly drained from his face. He hastily flipped them over and scanned the synopses, his knees weakening as they confirmed his fears.

"_How?_ This is... me!" he asked in an incredulous falsetto, brandishing Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood.

"You know what, we'll grab them, play them and see if it's just a coincidence," Kara declared, taking charge of this situation.

They walked up to the counter, also grabbing the original game and laying them all on the counter.

"Assassin's Creed Marathon, eh?" the employee asked, looking at Ezio, then frowning. "Hey, you look a little familiar..."

Ezio's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before replying: "Um, yeah, marathon, we figured they were good games that we'd try out. I guess I just kind of have one of those faces," he nervously replied, forcing a slightly exaggerated American accent.

The employee shrugged, then beckoned them closer: "I was there the other night when the Prophet made his first save. I'll let you in on my theory, okay? I think..." he paused for dramatic effect. "That the Prophet is actually Ezio who's been brought to our world and time and is using his assassin persona and his title as the Prophet to make saves around Metropolis. I saw his outfit; I saw him in action and heard him speak. It _has _to be Ezio!"

Kara and Ezio looked at each other, then simultaneously burst out into hysterics.

"I'm sorry, my friend, things like the Blur might be possible, but time travel? Never!" Ezio got out during laughs, still in his American accent.

They paid the embarrassed employee and walked until they were out of site before Kara brusquely picked a yelping Ezio bridal style and super sped to the farm.

"Never. Do that. AGAIN!" Ezio said, a little weirded out. "It's just a little demeaning that my girlfriend is infinitely stronger than I am and has to flaunt it by picking me up like that and running me back!"

Kara's eyebrows rose up: "Fine, next time I'll speed off myself and wait until you get back, if that's what you want."

Ezio rolled his eyes: "Let's just play."

Several hours of game play later, Ezio and Kara sat back at about 3 in the morning. Shocked by what they had seen. Kara by what Ezio had seemingly had to endure and Ezio by the realism and accuracy of it all.

"Ezio, was all that true?" Kara asked gently.

Ezio nodded.

"You're seriously an Italian Renaissance Master Assassin?" she asked incredulously.

He nodded again: "Does that change things between us?" he asked sombrely.

Kara looked around shocked: "Ezio! I'm a girl from a far-away planet gifted with super-powers beyond anyone's wildest imagination! At least you're from Earth! It changes _nothing_ between us, save that we both know each others' background now..." she said, trailing off, before adding: "gramps."

Ezio frowned as she laughed: "Hey, just because I'm 551 doesn't mean I don't have any moves, E.T.!"

With that, he tackled her and began kissing her passionately, revelling in the fact that he had nothing to hide from his girlfriend and vice versa. She giggled against his lips as she reversed them in the blink of an eye. They were still kissing when they heard a forced cough from the entrance to the living room.

Without looking, Kara sat up and sighed, frustrated, before turning to see Clark in his Blur outfit, having just come back from his shift.

"Kara, bedroom. Ezio, loft," Clark said simply, before crossing his arms and cementing his unimpressed pose.

The two hung their heads and went their separate ways. Clark heard Kara's door fly off its hinges as she slammed it and sighed exasperatedly as he knew that repairing that door was going to be up to him. He trooped up the stairs and walked into his and Lois's bedroom, laying down beside her as she was putting the finishing touches to her latest article on her laptop.

"You know, Clark, they _are_ adults, they can do what they want. Why do you have to treat them like kids? And don't you dare tell me that you're protecting Kara, she's old enough and strong enough that she can do that for herself. I'm not suggesting you condone them doing the nasty; I'm just saying that you should butt out of their personal life before you ruin it and make them get rebellious about being together. It's clear that they both love each other infinitely and Ezio knows that were he to betray Kara in any way that she'd destroy him, and we know that Kara's not going to hurt Ezio, emotionally, at least," Lois lectured, cutting off Clark every time he tried to intervene for his response.

He sat, shocked, as he could not reply to that to save his case. He knew he was beaten on this, and sighed.

"I guess you're right, Lois-" he began.

"You're damn right, I'm right!" she intervened, before spotting Clark's expression. "Oh, sorry. Go on."

"I guess it's just that seeing my only surviving family member, who I'm physically older than growing up, it's just..." he hesitated, trying to find the right words.

"You're going through the overprotective dad/brother phase, because you can't handle the fact that Kara's soon going to come to a point where she won't need you to guide her in her decisions, or help her master her powers. She's about ready to break away and live life on her own." Lois finished his thought wisely. "Don't worry Clark, she'll realize that you'll always be there for her, and if ever she feels she's in over her head, she'll come to you. I know that she looks up to you for your knowledge in terms of human life and the way that Kryptonians need to be on Earth in order to detract attention from themselves."

"Thanks Lois, thanks for showing me what I was too blind to see," Clark said, leaning over and pecking her on her cheek, eliciting a slight blush from her.

"Well, there are just some things that X-Ray vision can't pick up, Smallville. That's why you need me to be your human seeing dog every now and then."

The Earth-2 Lionel sat in his office in Luthorcorp on the telephone, calling up someone he has researched.

"Hello, Warren? This is Lionel Luthor; Founder and CEO of Luthorcorp. I've read into your studies about genetic memory and was interested in a business partnership... Currently hired by Abstergo Industries, you say? Well, I think if you were to ask your superiors, I think you'll find that Luthorcorp just bought them over... Yes, really! ... What I want you to do, Mr Vidic, is to gather up all your equipment, all your research and data, _everything_, and you are to relocate to a Luthorcorp lab by the name of Cadmus Labs... Thank you, Warren, your haste is appreciated. I very much look forward to picking up where Abstergo left off... Yes, I am well aware of Abstergo's goals and whatnot, I was given a file that brought me up to speed as to everything I needed to know about the company... Okay, you too, goodbye."

Lionel hung up the phone and paced his office, stopping in front of a framed manuscript page of a Templar Commander's diary, depicting a Piece of Eden that was in their possession and the effects it had on those around him. A stylistic picture showed the man holding a metal orb in his hand and light radiating from it, with a sea of people bowing down to him. Lionel's grin grew as he pictured himself wielding this same object and all those around him obeying his every word. _Yes,_ he thought, _a very good bit of business indeed_.

***Oh boy, this story is flowing! :D Next update should be soon! Thanks everyone, keep reviewing!***


	4. Chapter 4

***Words cannot express how ridiculous I feel for not updating in a while... I thank everyone who has read this fic and especially to Macri007 who's been feeding me ideas and making sure I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth... That has yet to happen, I'm afraid! :P Anyways, I'll stop running my keyboard and get to the good stuff then? I would write my typical disclaimer stating that none of the original story work of Smallville and AC are stemmed from my mind, but everyone almost always skips over the initial ramble from the author, so ENJOY!*  
**

Lionel Luthor stood in the midst of Cadmus Labs, overlooking the setup of Abstergo's equipment, including multitudes of Animuses, _or is it Animi?_ He wondered to himself with a chuckle. _Either way, I own them, so I could in essence call them whichever I want_.

Warren Vidic walked up to him reluctantly.

"Hello there Mr. Luthor, can I say what an honour it is to finally meet you?" he said, shaking the Mogul's hand somewhat in fear, and somewhat reluctantly.

"Oh, spare me you flatteries, Warren. How is the setup going?" Lionel snapped.

The doctor flinched, and replied: "Very well, sir, we have half of our available machines set up and fully functional, with the rest being set up. We also wired the blueprints down to the factory level and they are programming the design into the automated assembly line as we speak. By the end of the week, I estimate we should have 4000 fully functional machines."

"And how will it go in terms of subjects?"

"Well, we intend to use the majority of them to train agents, so each machine will be designed specifically to a single user, that way we don't have certain users going in and leaving glitches and such in the individual's server. We will then keep a few, possibly about fifty or so for any subjects we capture, assassins, that is."

"Excellent, excellent. I must commend you on the swiftness of this business, Warren. I do have a specific person I would particularly like to have put in the Animus to sort through his memories."

With this, Lionel handed Warren a thick folder.

"Normally, it would seem impossible to get him in here, but as you can see, some considerable- ah- research has been made into this individual."

Vidic's eyes flew across the contents of the folder.

"This is amazing! We have yet to see the effects of the animus on an individual of such... _interest_. We could potentially find the genetic-"

"Don't sit here telling me the pros and cons of this, I already know them, just get the job done, Vidic!"

Clark knocked lightly on Kara's door the next day.

"Come in, Kal-El," the other Kryptonian called out.

As Clark walked in, he said: "I told you not to call me that, Kara, it's Clark."

"Have you just come in here to lecture me on the importance of our 'human' lives, _Clark_?" she replied, exasperated, making air quotes with the word 'human'.

Clark sighed.

"No, I haven't, Kara. I've come to apologize. I shouldn't be trying to dictate the way you live your life, or who you spend it with. Having grown up with humans, I know what heartbreak can be like. I know Ezio wouldn't do that to you, I guess I'm just trying to spare you from it just in case. You're all that's left of my real family, and I guess I don't want to see you hurt."

Kara's previously defiant expression softened into admiration of her younger/older Kryptonian cousin. She strode forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you Clark, it means a lot that you're there to look out for me."

They suddenly felt another pair of arms wrap around them and looked to see that they belonged to Ezio, who was resting his head partly on Kara's shoulder and partly on Clark's chest.

He suddenly looked up: "Ruining the moment?"

They both nodded, grinning.

"Okay, I'll wait downstairs."

He trudged out of the room and bounded down the stairs and both Kryptonians heard him strike up a conversation with Lois, relaying to her what had just happened. Clark motioned to Kara with a nod of his head and they both super- sped into the kitchen.

"Whoa, there Smallville! Heads up when you do you super-speed in!" Lois said, exasperatedly, picking up the knife she had dropped.

Clark grinned mischievously, "What, do you want me to make some kind of bird call when I'm incoming?"

"Whatever floats your boat, Clarkie!" she said, throwing the chopped vegetables into the omelette mix she was making.

Of course, the other three eyed it suspiciously, Clark especially knowing Lois's culinary skills, or rather, lack thereof.

Clark stepped in, "Listen, Lois, why don't you let me take care of that?"

"Aw, so sweet, Clark!" she said. "But, I've got this. Don't you worry, you'll be smacking those Kryptonian lips by the time you're done!"

As she turned to pour the mixture into the frying pan, the three heroes all shared a grimace and then Kara nudged Clark.

"Why don't you super speed over to the supermarket and get some cereal or some oats?" she said in a barely audible whisper, as Lois contentedly hummed as her mixture went in the pan.

"On it," Clark said, getting ready to super speed, but then stopping himself. He then cleared his throat and made a pigeon cooing noise.

"What was _that_?" Lois asked in disbelief, still her back turned.

"_That_ was my signal that I'm going to be doing some super-speeding." Clark said, with a slight degree of pride. "I was going to go grab a couple of things from the supermarket, you want anything?"

"Sure, grab me a tub of rocky road ice cream, it's movie night and this week's movie is _Titanic_."

"Sympathy food?" Clark asked, jokingly.

"No, actually, I just really get a rocky road craving when I watch that movie. If anything, I laugh at it."

"On it," he replied, speeding away, leaving Kara and Ezio in the kitchen with a preoccupied Lois.

"We'll just be outside, okay?" Kara asked.

"Sure," Lois chirped over her shoulder.

Kara led Ezio outside and they walked slowly towards the barn.

"Do you miss it?" Kara asked, as they walked up the stairs and slumped down on the bed Ezio used.

"_Italia_? In my time? Yes, I miss mostly my mother and sister, but I'd become so occupied with my _assassin_ duties that I didn't get to see them often. Too many _maudito_ Templars. Their leaders especially were like the Hydra. You kill one, seemingly two more to replace them. The plague of the Templars swept through the governmental and judiciary systems, making its leaders untouchable and giving them infinite connections and resources that gave them the upper hand against us. So, _that_, I don't miss so much. Then again, the conflict still rages on to this day, perhaps ever so slightly more subtly than it did in the past."

Kara nodded her understanding.

_Meanwhile..._

Clark walked up and down the aisles of the supermarket, grabbing the occasional item that the others had requested. He was now headed towards the fridges at the back to get the ice cream Lois had requested when he felt it. That sickening feeling he always got in the presence of green kryptonite. He stumbled and turned, to see five figures, all clutching chunks of the meteor rock.

"Please," Clark groaned as his legs buckled and the boxes he was carrying fell to the ground. "You don't know what that stuff does to me."

"Oh, we know full well what it does to you, Mr. Kent," one said as he stepped forward and struck Clark across the face with the hand clutching the fragment.

Clark passed out and the four others dragged Clark out the back way as the leader went and paid off the clerk, who had blanked all the cameras and unlocked the back entrance for them.

"Much appreciated sir," the leader said, heading towards the back to join his colleagues as they loaded Clark into the white unmarked van parked out back.

As they pulled out, the leader pulled out a switch and flicked it, just as the clerk came across a software chip and realized the money was fake.

The sound of the explosion was muffled, but audible nonetheless to the passengers of the van as they sped away to their destination, Cadmus Labs.

Clark woke up, groaning, and took in his unfamiliar surroundings, it was a plain, well-lit room with basic furniture. He was wearing the same clothes he was abducted in. He then noticed a glowing blue bracelet around his wrist. Blue Kryptonite. He was abducted and now powerless until he found a way of getting rid of the bracelet. What was this place?

***Duh duh duuuuuuuuuuuuuuh! You like the cliffy? Of course you don't! :P Anyways, I quite enjoyed writing this chapter and I'm glad I did it all in one go, albeit at a ridiculous hour because I couldn't sleep thanks to this stupid cold I have... -_- Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Keep leaving the reviews, to let me know how I'm doing with this and inbox any suggestions/ideas that could make the rest of this story wicked! :D***


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